This is my subtle reminder to those not so subtle children who make a habit of correcting others, and in the process annoying those children that they are attempting to correct.

Usually it works.

Usually.

Until I had a particularly bright child who finally decided to let me be in charge and finally allowed me to correct the children, but still felt the need to inform me of the many wrong doings that I was so obviously missing.

“Teacher Boss, Teacher Boss! She is budging in line”

“Teacher Boss, Teacher Boss…”

Maybe I should’ve been insulted. Instead I laughed.

Hey, if the name fits…

I think that it fits quite well, actually.

Only a Teacher Boss would use the line “Hey, don’t make me use my bossy voice” to a group of slightly out of control children to grab their attention, and have the children respond by sitting and listening.

A Teacher Boss knows when to use her bossy voice, and she can use it well.

During the first two weeks of preschool we really emphasize the importance of proper hand washing.

We read the book Those Mean Nasty Dirty Downright Disgusting but…Invisible Germs by Judith Anne Rice. This is a wonderful book with great illustrations on what an earache germ, a headache germ, a sore throat germ, a fever germ and the most downright disgustingest germ of all, the throw up germ, just might look like. Rosa, the smart little girl in the book, knows how to get rid of those terrible germs and she sends them whirling, twirling down the drain. We read this book over and over again.

We practice coughing and sneezing into our elbow. We show how germs spread by using glitter and shaking hands. We talk about the proper steps for hand washing. You know the drill… wet, soap, scrub (sing a little song), rinse and dry. We are even growing germy bread for a science experiment.

What is germy bread? It’s a slice of bread (preferably one that doesn’t have preservatives) which everyone in the class touches with their dirty, moist little hands. Gross, right? Wait a week, and then you can be completely downright disgusted by those not-so invisible germs.

We should have those germs well under control, right?

Sure.

Except that I’m the one who now has the sore throat germ, the headache germ, and the earache germ.

Irony, preschool style.

Mrs. V

On Monday, I will not be surprised if I get asked by a student if I forgot to wash my hands.

Please don’t ask me outside of the classroom if a particular child is a morning or afternoon student, because that is a question I probably won’t be able to answer just yet. Some things will take a little extra time.

I have many students with names that start with the same sound. Imagine having a *Cindy, Sarah, Suzy, Savannah, Sandy and Saul in one class, for example. Maybe it is just me, but my brain starts to mix up those names. I will say Michael when I mean Matthew, and I will say Jessica when I mean Jennifer.

I also have many names that sound similar like McKenzie and McKenna, for example. This is yet another speed bump for my brain and more names to stumble over.

Add to those obstacles the chance that I might call a student by their older sibling’s name, and it is amazing that I can correctly learn any child’s name, ever.

But I have done it.

Now the goal is to remember all of their names for the next school day.

Keeping in mind, of course, that on most mornings I have to run back into the house to grab my forgotten lunch.

Mrs. V

*All the names used in this post are fictional and not the actual names of any of my students.